Autotask, the East Greenbush, New York, software company, is merging with Connecticut-based company Datto.

Private equity firm Vista Equity Partners, which acquired Autotask in 2014, is acquiring Datto to merge the two technology companies. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

As part of the merger, Autotask CEO Mark Cattini is leaving his role to become a strategic advisor to the board of directors. The new company will be led by a combined management team with Datto founder and CEO Austin McChord as CEO.

The combined company will have around 1,300 employees with offices in nine countries and almost 13,000 customers.

"Whenever two companies come together, there can only be one surviving CEO. For a variety of reasons, it's Austin," Cattini said. "My job now is to work with the Vista board of directors and [Austin] and Autotask to bring the best out of our capabilities and talent. Strategically, it's how do we think about how products work together and deliver with customers in the short and long term."

Autotask develops software that allows IT service providers to manage help desk support, billing and other functions. Much of that work is done in East Greenbush, as well as internationally from China and England to Germany and Australia.

The company, headquartered about 6 miles southeast of Albany in East Greenbush, has more than 450 employees around the world. It has more than 75,000 users and 8,000 customers in 125 countries.

Datto has more than 800 employees in nine countries. The company offers backup, disaster recovery and business continuity solutions to small and medium-sized businesses. Datto, founded in 2007, has raised $100 million in venture capital funding since 2013.

For now, Autotask and Datto will operate under their respective brands. More information will be available in the coming weeks. The combined company will offer data protection, backup and disaster recovery services for managed services providers.

Cattini said Autotask was looking for a way to virtualize the cloud, in the event their servers went down.

"We as a company wanted to add that capability. We looked around and then had the opportunity," Cattini said. "Vista acquired Datto to find that gap. They're the industry leader in their own right. What this now provides us is ability to innovate and how to bring these tools to market."

Autotask was co-founded by Bob Godgart and others in 2001. When Godgart retired as CEO in 2010, the company hired Cattini, who helped another homegrown tech company, MapInfo, double its revenue to $200 million.

Since Cattini joined, Autotask was acquired by the private equity firm Vista, acquired several companies, added new offices and went from 130 employees to more than 450.

While Autotask does not disclose revenue numbers, the company said revenue has grown six times in the last six years.

The transaction, which is subject to regulatory approval, is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2017.